Penuelas 1
Issa Penuelas
Mr. Negley
Humanites 1A
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Final Project
Abbey’s explanation of culture and civilization is the heart of the unit because it
illustrates the key idea between how stagnant humans are and the flow of humanity. Abbey goes
on to state that “Civilization is a youth with a molotov cocktail in his hand. Culture is the Soviet
tank or L.A. cop that guns him down.” What he’s saying here is that culture is the stoppage of
movement where society and time is restrained. The molotov cocktail in other words represents
civilization in all it is, and the beauty that it brings to life. The Soviet tank or guns therefore are a
representation of culture. In order to fully understand the deeper meaning of what Abbey is
trying to emphasize I needed to further understand that the word culture was also a matter of
language and there was more to the reasoning behind Abbey’s thoughts. When I finally was able
to define culture as more than one thing, I realized that we are surrounded by the inevitable
culture which fogs our everyday life. Civilization I had to realize was something deeper than just
a continual flow of life. It was our everyday accomplishments, and the evolvement of man. To
fully grasp the heart of the unit I had to really see culture and civilization as Abbey does, that
culture is the rocks blocking the continual flow of freedom to enter our lives, and civilization is
the promising river pressing forward with hope.
Penuelas 2
Abbey’s idea is shown in the world through our everyday encounters. The Molotov
cocktail can be the things we consider of value to us. An important promotion, a scholarship or
perhaps even a friendship. I believe Abbey is trying to emphasis something more deeply rooted
when he describes culture and civilization. So I asked myself, what is the best representation of
civilization? Could it be freedom? Could Abbey be using culture to describe the captivity that
the government has on us? If we ponder our everyday lives, the human race has a lot of
restraints, restraints that man has created to be there. Government, education, laws, and
regulations can all be examples of the culture which has taken place in our lives. A bondage that
we have created on our own and that is what I believe is the underneath interpretation of Abbey’s
thoughts.
I loved reading on Abbey’s thoughts of culture and civilization because I am able to
reflect on my own life and how it applies to what Abbey is saying. Unfortunately culture takes
place in our everyday surroundings more then we realize. Public corporations such as fast food
restaurants are explicit examples of what could be a negative effect of culture. Another factor of
culture that we don’t think of often is the inevitable similarity that we have created in our
everyday lives. Fashions and trends are made so we can all take after. The clothes we wear, the
products we consume, the things we consider important. Could it be that culture is a wired net
holding us back from progressing and movement in the human race?
In conclusion, I was able to relate Abbey’s teachings to the heart of the unit. Grasping the
more profound meaning was a struggle for me but once I related the roles of culture and
civilization in my own life and the world, my perspective changed. Culture can relate to our lives
in many ways, and Abbey emphasizes the negative effect which it has on the human race.
Penuelas 3
However, he counteracts that civilization is the beautiful stream of opportunity that takes place
every day without our realization.